Keep it Forever
by xascasfellx
Summary: It's almost Valentine's Day and Dean has no idea what to get Cas.


Title: Keep it Forever

Author: xascasfellx

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Dean/Castiel

Spoilers: Season 4

Word Count: 2,750

Dean sat on the hood of the Impala staring out into the woods, lost in thought. He could barely hear the mumbling of his brother telling him the details of what they were hunting, but he was too far gone inside his own brain to really care.

It was almost February 14th; literally just days away and he had no idea what he was going to get Cas. It was their first Valentine's Day together. It wasn't like he was even into the holiday or anything anymore, but it was just custom for someone to get something for their—what even was Cas to him? A boyfriend? Was he still just his friend? And having an Angel as his...person...Dean had no flipping idea of what to get him. Cas could get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but the problem with Cas, is he didn't want anything. He didn't eat so food and chocolate was out of the question. He only wore that suit and the trench coat everywhere, so clothes were a no go. And the guy didn't really have a sense of humor so something funny wouldn't make sense to him.

He couldn't wrap his brain around what the Angel would like. But he couldn't just not get Cas something. He could be a little standoff-ish with his emotions but he did have a heart, sometimes. Then again, the whole holiday was just crap. It was too emotional and sappy for him. Not to mention Cas probably didn't even know what Valentine's Day was, so he wouldn't even get Dean something in return; and Dean didn't want to be a chick and feel awkward when giving Cas whatever it was he was going to give him.

Dean ran his hands threw his hair, huffing a long and audible sigh. Sam's head perked up from above the book he was reading aloud. His face instantly went into a famous glare.

"Am I boring you with this? Because I thought you were the one who wanted to work this case?" Dean leaned his head against his knee, and rolled his eyes at his brother.

"I'm listening. Jeez, just continue." He closed his eyes, racking his brain for something, anything. For a moment it was silent and he could feel Sam's eyes on him. When he opened one he saw Sam's face had softened into worry. "What?" He asked, annoyed.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He snapped, jumping down off the hood. Sam watched him walk over to the back seat of the car and grab a beer out of the cooler they stashed there. He offered one to Sam, but the younger brother declined with a shake of the head. Dean shrugged and downed nearly the whole bottle in a few gulps.  
"Seriously, Dean. What's wrong with you? You're usually focused on the job and now, you're over there daydreaming. You wanna talk about it?" After finishing the beer, Dean tossed it back into the cooler and turned to face his brother.

"Nothing is wrong. Can't you just leave it alone?" His voice was loud and echoed off the trees in the distance. Sam seemed a little hurt by his words, but soon his face turned into a half grin as he looked past Dean's shoulder.

"Hello Dean." Dean's heart flipped in his chest as he swung around to face the Angel he had been thinking about all morning. Cas looked the same as he always did; messy hair, bright blue eyes, tan trench coat—too big around his shoulder, but something seemed off about him. It wasn't until he noticed a smile on the Angel's lips that he put it together. Cas was standing closer than he should have been, but Dean didn't say anything. It was just normal Cas.

"Hey'a, Cas." Cas' eyes flicked over to Sam. Dean's stomach felt like a knot was forming there.

"Hello Sam."

"Hey Cas. Have you found anything?" Cas sighed and the smile fell away. Dean turned to glare at his brother, but he wasn't paying attention to him, neither was Cas.

"I am afraid to say, I have not. It seems to be..." Maybe it was just his over tired brain playing tricks on him, but Cas' eyes seemed to scan over Dean's body as he talked to Sam. "Harder than originally expected."

"Wait, what's going on? What have I missed? Is Cas helping with the case?"

"No, he's dealing with his own case right now. Why don't you just go and see if you can talk to the witnesses, while I help Cas?" Sam's eyes told him to leave, but his curiosity made him want to stay.

"Maybe I can help?" Dean pushed, but neither Sam nor Cas were having it.

"Thank you Dean, but I think Sam and I have it under control." It was like a slap in the face from both of them. They were completely shutting him off, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't pissed.

"Fine, whatever. Just don't take too long, we have to hunt down this sonofabitch, and...you're not even listening." Sam and Cas were close together, backs towards Dean in deep conversation. He rolled his eyes and headed to the driver's side of the Impala. At least this way he could ponder over what to get Cas without any interruptions.

...

Dean spent the next three hours walking the sidewalk of Summer Field's shopping area looking for something he thought Cas would like. Needless to say, he came up empty handed.

Once back at the motel, Dean was greeted by a bitch face to end all bitch faces. Sam was yelling at him like there was no tomorrow on why he hadn't talked to the witnesses, or why he hadn't answered his phone, and blah blah blah blah.

Dean fell onto his bed, laying his hand over his eyes, trying to block out the sounds of his brother. This whole thing was giving him a migraine. It was stupid. He shouldn't worry about it. Valentine's Day was dumb and he had never celebrated it before like this so why start now? It wasn't like Cas and him were even a real couple. He couldn't have a relationship, let alone with an Angel. And who was to say if Cas even wanted to be with him? So what if they had kissed once, or twice, before? It wasn't like it meant anything to either one of them. So what if they had hooked up before? It wasn't like it meant anything to Cas; not the way Dean hoped it would, anyway. He left pretty soon after it, so that should have told Dean something right then. Not to mention the way Cas had ignored him earlier and was too worried about his own stuff. So why should he worry about getting something for someone who didn't give two shits about their relationship?

"Seriously, man. What is wrong with you? You've been moody for days, and what was with you earlier? Talk to me." He felt Sam's feet stomping over towards him, and the bed next to his squeak. He didn't need to see to know that Sam was sitting beside him, waiting for Dean to talk. It's not like it mattered, so why the hell not tell his brother about it? He was going to laugh at him regardless.

"It's almost Valentine's Day." Sam was silent. He almost cocked his head to the side to see what he was doing, but didn't.

"Okay...not what I was expecting you to say. What's wrong with Valentine's Day? I thought it was your favorite holiday- Drifters Christmas and all that?"

"I don't see the point in it anymore." He mumbled. The longer he dragged it out the more he felt himself turning into a chick, the more he felt himself getting angrier and angrier.

"Then what's wrong?"

Sitting up he looked his brother in the eyes and just let it out. There was no point in hiding anything from Sammy.

"I don't know what to get Cas. He's an Angel, and doesn't really need anything, or want anything, and it's our first Valentine's Day as...sort of a couple, and it just feels like the right thing to do, I swear to God Sammy if you don't wipe that smirk off your face I'll beat it the fuck off you. This isn't funny man. Forget it, forget I mentioned it." He almost got up to leave the room, to go drown his patheticness in more alcohol, but Sam pushed him back down on the bed with a laugh.

"No, wait, Dean. I'm sorry. It's not funny. I just think it's nice that you want to get Cas something. It's...sweet."

"God, kill me now." Dean groaned, running his hands through his hair again. But hearing his brother comfort him, made him feel a hundred times better.

"Trust me, Cas will appreciate it."

"Cool, now if I could only find what 'it' is."

"Why not just get him something he could keep forever? Or you know something from the heart?" This time Dean did stand up, punching his brother jokingly on the shoulder.

"You're no help." He laughed. Even so, his mood had lightened dramatically, and just the feeling of joking with Sam made the stress of the situation fall. Sam was cackling behind him as he sat down at the computer. He had an idea, but he didn't know how to go about doing it. An hour had passed and Sam was still laughing to himself.

...

"Hello Dean." Dean turned around, not at all surprised by the sudden appearance of his Angel. Moments before had had prayed to Cas, asking if he could come down so they could talk. Cas never disappointed. But what did shock Dean was the way Cas looked. His hair wasn't sticking up as bad anymore, and he had on a different outfit as he normally did. He wore a dark purple shirt, and probably the same pants he always wore. But the blue tie and the trench coat were nowhere to be seen. He had to open and close his mouth a few times before he could actually speak.

"Wow Cas, who knew you could clean up." Cas looked down at his outfit and shrugged.

"I had...plans and thought it wise to dress for the occasion." Dean's smile faded away and his face heated with embarrassment. Of course he hadn't dressed up for him. Why would he? And what was this feeling? There was no way in hell he was jealous. But who could Cas be seeing? He didn't know any other human besides Dean and Sam. And he didn't think any Angel meeting would be an occasion for dressing as nice as he looked; and he had to admit, Cas looked fucking nice.

"Shit, man, I didn't mean to keep you from anything. You can leave if you want." He moved his hand, clutching Cas' present for dear life, behind his back. Sadly, the Angel saw him move his hand, and a small smile appeared. Dean's stomach did even more flips. It was only then did he realize Cas was holding something behind his back too. "Cas?" Castiel moved forward a little bit, not taking his eyes off of Dean.

"It's custom for one to give their partner gifts on this holiday. Right?" Dean could only nod. Cas was now standing before him holding out his hand. In his palm was a small, silver ring. Incrusted on the surface were symbols, or rather, letters he could not translate. He looked up at Cas with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. Cas only reached forward and took the hand not behind his back; just his luck, his left. Cas slid the ring onto his finger and rubbed his thumb over it when he was done. "It's Enocian. It will protect you from Angel's and demons, almost everything. As long as you wear it, you will be safe." His voice was soft as he continued to hold Dean's hand, thumb still rubbing over the silver. He could feel his eyes were still wide in shock as he stared at Cas, and his face continued to get hotter and hotter. All of a sudden his gift felt like a piece of shit in comparison. "Do you not like it? Why is your face red?" Cas dropped his hand and moved back a little. His voice sounded sad and it made Dean's stomach drop.

"Cas, no it's great. I love it. It's really nice; you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me." The smile came back onto Cas' face in an instant.

"It was no trouble at all Dean. It was my pleasure. In fact, I had no idea what to get you. Thankfully Sam was able to make some suggestions." Dean barked out a laugh which caused even Cas to chuckle in response.

"You asked Sammy for advice on what to get me?" Cas gave a sheepish shrug. "That is something right there. And here I thought you were cheating on me with my brother." He was only half joking.

"Sam is great Dean, but I could never...cheat on you." He didn't elaborate or make a fuss that to cheat on someone, they had to be a couple. They could worry about that later. Right now, the moment was too good to spoil talking about what exactly they were; because it was good enough for him to just be themselves.

"Here Cas," He extended his own hand out to the Angel blushing a brighter red when he saw Cas' face light up. "I know it's not a ring or anything, and it's really sappy, I get that, I tried to not make it so girly, but I couldn't think of anything else, and it was the best I could come up with. I just thought that you could keep it in your coat pocket or something whenever you're not around, and you know later in life...when we're gone, you can always have it. Shit, I'm turning this into a chick-flick moment, I know, but-"

Cas closed the space between them, placing his lips upon Dean's. It was just for a moment to shut Dean's rambling up, but he didn't complain. If anything, Cas was a hell of a good kisser. He felt himself relax instantly when their lips met, and a wash of disappointment when Cas leaned back out. He took the photograph from Dean's hand and looked at it with a smile. He had no idea what Cas would like in a gift, but when Sam told him to get Cas something he could keep forever he knew then that what Cas would want would to be with him and Sam. And considering that was impossible, the next best thing would be a photograph. It was something he had had stashed away in his duffle for years. It had been a while since he had gotten it out of the bag.

The picture was from before they had even known about Cas, from before Dean went to hell, and from before Sam had died. It was before their dad went missing, and from before Sam went to college. The picture was mainly for John to take on his hunting trips, and both boys had complained the whole time he had taken it, but he just told them to shut up and smile. Dean's arm was wrapped around his brothers, and Sam was trying to push Dean's hand away from his hair. They were both grinning from ear to ear. It was happier times for both of them.

Dean had no use for it, and in fact, it hurt him to look at it much. But it was something special to him and he didn't want it to go to waste. With Cas, he knew it would always be safe.

The look in Cas' eyes proved that. He looked up at Dean with a hint of a smile, and leaned in again, pressing his lips to Dean's. This kiss lasted longer and had more meaning to it.

"Thank you Dean. I'll keep it with me...forever." When Cas leaned out Dean tried to ignore the wetness in his eyes so he just smiled, playing with the ring on is finger. He had to admit; this was one hell of a Valentine's Day.


End file.
